The School of Health Information Management (SHIM)

You are welcome to the School of Health information Management, OAUTHC, the foremost Health Information Management Training School in Nigeria and Africa.

BRIEF HISTORY OF OAUTHC, ILE IFE

The Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile Ife is one of the Federal Teaching
Hospitals fully funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria. It was formerly known as the Ife
University Teaching Hospitals Complex until its name was changed in 1987 to Obafemi Awolowo University
Teaching Hospital Complex in honour of one of the greatest statesmen Nigeria has produced, following the
death of the sage in 1987.

The Institution was the brain child of the government of the then Western State of Nigeria. In 1967,
the Western State Government decided to establish a medical school in its University at Ile-Ife which was
then five (5) years old to provide manpower to tackle the health problems of the state. After a period of
careful planning, the Faculty of Health Sciences was created in the University of Ife on 8th May, 1972.
The teaching hospital that was to serve as a clinical facility to the medical school was established in
July 1975. It was taken over by the Federal Government later that year.

IFE PHILOSOPHY

The Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex is unique in character in that it was founded on
what is generally referred to as the Ife Philosophy. The philosophy provides for an integrated health care
delivery system with emphasis on comprehensive health care services based on a pyramid comprising primary
care at the base, and secondary and tertiary services, designed to secure improvement in the physical,
mental and socio-economic well being of Nigerians through preventive, promotive, diagnostic, restorative and
rehabilitative services. The philosophy allows for a unique experiment in health care delivery and health
professional training in Nigeria. Primary Health Care is provided to the community in the health centers – two
urban and one rural in its catchment areas of Ife, Ilesa and Imesi-Ile respectively. Secondary care is provided at
its satellite centers and tertiary care for complicated disease conditions in specialized facilities in its two
hospital units. By its recognition and establishment of Primary Health Care as an integral part of the country’s
health system and the first level of contact of individuals, thereby bringing health care as close as possible
to the people, the Obafemi Awolowo University Hospitals Teaching Hospitals Complex was ahead of the WHO in its
Alma Ata Declaration of 1978 that Primary Health Care is the key to attain health for all. The Ife philosophy
has thus made for Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex a multi-campus health care system with
six (6) units.

HISTORY OF SHIM, OAUTHC, ILE-IFE

At its 10th meeting held on Wednesday, 22nd and Thursday 23rd September 1982, the Management Board,
Ife University Teaching Hospital Complex as it was named then approved the establishment of the School of
Medical Records with effect from 29th October, 1982. The establishment of the school was in line with the
policy of the government of Federal Republic of Nigeria as regards training of health professionals.

The school took off on Monday, 29th October, 1982 under the headship of Mr. D. Ona Akanji [F.H.R.] the then
scribe of the Nigeria Health Records Association [N.H.R.A.] and Assistant Director Health Records Services, as
the course Coordinator. Shortly after his retirement in 1996, Mr. Akin Ibimilua, ably assisted by Mr. Samson
Olatoki and a group of other competent officers took over the saddle and spiced the programme
with dynamism and vigor.

Today, the school is headed by an amiable and erudite scholar, who is also a product of the school years ago,
Mrs. Folasade Adediran. The school is presently situated within a magnificent building tastily equipped with
modern facilities in a serene environment, specially built by the management of OAUTHC under the leadership of Professor
Sanya Adejuyigbe, an internationally acclaimed Professor of peadiatric surgery.

Presently, the school has gone beyond the original concept of its founders. It has not only made phenomenal
impact in the training of professional health Information Managers in Nigeria, the school programme has recently
undergone tremendous restructuring and redesigning, leading to the change of nomenclature of the training
programme from medical Records to Health Information Management in line with the directive of International
Federation of Health Records Organization [IFHRO], a subsidiary of World Health Organization [WHO]. This is
in response to changing manpower needs of the Health industry in Nigeria, as well as the need to ensure that
the school training programme continually meet the objectives for which it is established.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SCHOOL ACADEMIC PROGRAMME

The main objectives of the ND and HND programmes are:

To transit a body of knowledge and a command of adequate technical skills and techniques

To establish and maintain professional standards and ethics in the practice of Health Information Management.

To raise and maintain the status of Health information management profession in Nigeria and all over the world.

To collate, store and preserve health information for prospective users

Since its inception, the school’s main thrust in meeting these broad objectives has been the training of
middle and high level manpower for health industries. Its courses were designed to provide necessary skills
and professional ethics for those who would function in the health institutions generally.

Changing manpower needs in the health industry in Nigeria have compelled an elaboration of the school
programme orientation. In other words, the whole academic programme has been restricted with a desire to
expose prospective health information management students to both the core and elective courses in the programme
in a hierarchically fashion, terminating in a comprehensive two tier National and Higher National Diploma in
Health Information Management.

GOVERNING COUNCIL

The Governing council of the school is made up of the following officers: